Brake.



N0. 637,003. I Patented Nov. [4, I899. g L. KINTZ. BRAKE.

' (Application filed Kay 9, 1899.) (No Model.)

, awmwtoz 1 UNITED STATES PATENT 'GFFICE.

itEwIs KINTZ, OF CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND;

eRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 1%.. 637,003, aata mama 14,1899.

Application filed May 9, 1899. Serial No. 716,128, (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern;

Be itknown that I, LEWIS KINTZ, a citizen of the United States, residingat Cumberland, in the county of Allegany and State of Maryland, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Brakes, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in brakesespecially designed for use upon the wheels of bicycles and similarvehicles and its object is to provide a neat device of simple andeconomic construction, effective in operation, and which may be readilyattached to or detached from the frame of the machine.

Heretofore brakes of this character have been made of separate pieces'of metal and rigidly secured to the under surface of the crown of theforks by means of screws, &c., or by means of bands laid over said crownand riveted or otherwise rigidly secured at the ends to the body of thebrake. This form of brake has been found objectionable in many ways,especially in view of the difliculty experienced in applying the same tothe ma chine, as well as its weakness at the points of connection of theparts.

My invention consists in forming the brake and its securing means of onecontinuous piece of metal, which may be struck up from a single blank.

It also consists in the further novel constructions and combinations ofparts hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, showing the preferred form of my invention,and in Which- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my improved brakeapplied to a bicycle. Fig. 2 is a detail view thereof detached. Fig. 3is a plan view of a blank prior to being bent into proper form, and Fig.4 is a detail view of a modification.

Referring to said figures by letters of ref erence, A is the body of thebrake, which is shown preferably curved in cross-section to conform tothe under surface of the arched fork-crown a, as well as to overcome anytendency of this part to spring or give when placed under pressure. Saidbody portion is provided with an extension or shoe B, en' larged andrecurved near its end and prefer ably provided with laterally-extendingserrated foot-pieces O of suitable size, and intermediate said bodyportion and shoe the brake is preferably substantially fiat, as at A, toenable the said shoe to spring in a vertical direction. Extendinglongitudinally from and formed with the opposite or forward end of thebody A are preferably two arms D, each perforated near its outer end, asat d, for the reception of a bolt, as E, or other suitable device.

In applying the brake to the machine the body A is inserted beneath thecrown a of the forks. over the crown and to either side of thesteering-head a, and the bolts are placed within the perforations dandsimilar holes d, formed in the body of the brake. Nuts, as E, may thenbe screwed upon the lower threaded ends of the bolts, and the bands Dcan thus be quickly tightened upon the crown. The brake may then beoperated by pressing with the foot upon one of the foot-pieces O,causing the shoe to come into frictional contact with the tire of thewheel. It is obvious that said shoe will spring up to its normalposition as soon as pressure is removed therefrom.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a modified form of my brake. In said figurethe bolts F are shown as formed of extensions of the arms D. It isobvious that these bolt extensions F may also be threaded to receivenuts after being inserted into the perforations 01.

While in the foregoing description I have Arms D are then sprung backshown the preferred form of my invention, I

do not limit myself thereto, as I am aware.

that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spiritor sacrificing the advantages thereof, andl therefore reserve the rightto make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I therefore claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent thereon, is-

As a new article of manufacture, a brake struck up from a single pieceof metal and comprising an intermediate portion arched in cross-sectionwhereby .it may fit snugly against the under surface of the crown of atoo ve1ocipede,a fiat body portion extending from clamped intermediatethe arms and said archthe arched portion and having foot-pieces shapedportion, substantially as described. 10 thereon, bow-shaped arms formedon the end In testimony whereof I affix my signature of the intermediateportion and recurved in presence of two witnesses.

5 therefrom in planes diverging from said por- LEWIS KINTZ.

tion, and bolts for retaining said arms in re- \Vitnesses: curvedposition, whereby the arched crown CLAUDE L. ONEAL,

of the forks of a Velooipede may be firmly WM. D. PAISLEY.

